Record-Breaking Attendance at TiEcon 2007!

SANTA CLARA, CA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- May 23, 2007 -- The world's largest convention for entrepreneurs in its 14th year, TiEcon 2007 proved to be the most successful to date with a record-breaking attendance. The conference kicked off Friday with a Keynote Panel featuring Tim O'Reilly, but it was 13-year-old budding entrepreneur Anshul Samar, CEO of Elementeo, who stole the show.

The "New Face of Entrepreneurship" theme was well embraced as attendees from the most diverse group of entrepreneurs ever to attend the conference sought discussion and advice on the dramatic change of business in relation to different market groups. The newest face at TiEcon belonged to 13-year-old Anshul Samar, Founder & CEO of Elementeo. Mr. Samar attended TiEcon with the goal of finding investors for his chemistry card game, which he would like to see reach $1 million in profits by the time he graduates Middle School.

In addition to O'Reilly, featured Keynote Speakers included some of the best in the business, represented by Meg Whitman, President & CEO, eBay Inc. and Marc Benioff, Chairman & CEO, Salesforce.com. The Distinguished Speakers included Matt Cohler, VP Strategy & Business Operations, Facebook; Vinod Khosla, Founder, Khosla Ventures and Takeshi Natsuno, SVP & MD, NTT DoCoMo Inc. The speakers inspired the capacity crowds of more than 2,500 in the Keynote Hall. Mr. Cohler provided solid advice to the budding entrepreneurs attending his speech, "Do what you're good at, and not just good at, but also passionate about, so you are happy!"

The "Entrepreneurs Bazaar" provided attendees with an opportunity to schedule quality one-on-one meetings with industry experts from venture capital, legal, finance, and other firms. The format provided attendees with an opportunity to receive feedback and critique for their ideas, which will enable them to take their plans to the next level. In its second year, the event drew an overflow crowd of over 260 budding entrepreneurs who were well matched with over 40 VCs and other service providers.

"TiEcon is emerging as a fertile ground on a Global scale. The high intensity meetings which took place at Entrepreneurs Bazaar demonstrate not only the power of entrepreneurship at its best but also the contribution that we at TiE could make to change the course of the future," said Ajay Chopra, Chair of Entrepreneurs Bazaar program and Partner at Trinity Ventures.

Participants of the Entrepreneurs Bazaar felt their expectations were met and more. "The Entrepreneurs Bazaar experience was wonderful," said Surya Ramachandran, an aspiring entrepreneur. "The mentors were insightful and resourceful in their advice. The VCs provided me all the information I needed to get my company funded. I shall always look to TiE for such levels of professionalism!"

Preeti Gupta, another aspiring entrepreneur, noted, "I found it to be very productive as TiE had done a spectacular job of fitting my company to the one VC I was looking to meet since they are very much in my space. In addition, I was pleasantly surprised when I was able to pitch to one of the main partners from that firm. Based on my experience, I would definitely participate again."

New this year, TiEcon LIVE! provided attendees, and those unable to attend, with an opportunity to listen to key messages from the Keynote and Distinguished speakers. Short speaker interviews were recorded and posted on YouTube within a couple of hours of their speech. In addition to the short interviews, the conference proceedings are recorded and available for purchase via the TiEcon website.

"I recall an old saying -- What you give is what you keep and what you keep is what you lose. TiE is one such amazing change agent that is built on the foundation of giving back and fostering new entrepreneurs and innovation," said Raj Jaswa, President of TiE Silicon Valley. "In addition TiEcon, TiE Silicon Valley holds numerous events including the TiE SIG series, TiE Institute series, and more throughout the year."

Don't miss TiEcon 2008:

TiEcon 2008 will take place on May 16-17.

About TiE

TiEcon is TiE Silicon Valley's annual flagship event. Founded in 1992 in Silicon Valley, TiE is a not-for-profit global network of entrepreneurs and professionals. TiE stands for Talent, Ideas, and Enterprise; it is an open and inclusive organization that has rapidly grown to more than 45 chapters in 10 countries with a membership base of over 10,000. TiE Silicon Valley is sponsored by the top Venture Capital firms, Fortune 500 corporations, and professional service providers. TiE fosters entrepreneurship through mentoring, networking, and education. At the heart of TiE is its strong ecosystem, which has enabled members to facilitate and create a cohesive network of strong, viable, and sustainable chapters worldwide. The TiE brand is synonymous with entrepreneurship and wealth creation globally.

Contact Information: Conference Contact: Email Contact Phone: 408.567.0700 x231 Fax: 408.567.0777 Media Contact Information: Melisa Glasberg Terpin Communications Email Contact Phone: 310.821.6100 x116